AgeingOLD
AGEING: EVOLUTION & MECHANISM
Marked variation among and within species in aspects of life-history, what causes these evolutionarily and what are the constraints that shape life-histories? In particular what is going on with ageing?
We are using longitudinal field studies of social vertebrates to investigate the impacts of cooperation and conflict on ageing rates,
impact of cooperation and conflict experienced during the life-time on an individual's downstream life-history, in particular on their pattern of ageing. Our evolutionary work is further complemented by comparative studies across birds and mammals and experimental evolutionary studies of ageing in microbes.
We combine three approaches:
Longitudinal field studies: investigating the proximate and ultimate causes of variation in ageing rates
Experimental evolution: testing evolutionary theory using experimental evolution of ageing in microbes
Comparative studies: testing evolutionary explanations for variation in life-histories across all mammals and birds
the evolution
of AGEING
We are testing theories for the evolutionary origin of ageing, and the evolution of ageing trajectories, using experimental evolutionary studies of microbial ageing.
And we are using comparative studies across vertebrates to investigate the ecological drivers of life-history variation and the role of constraints in life-history evolution.
INDIVIDUAL VARIATION IN ageing RATES
We use longitudinal field studies of social vertebrates to investigate the causes of the often marked individual variation in ageing rates seen in natural populations.
We are focussed in particular on the impacts of cooperation and social conflict on ageing trajectories, and the significance of parental age and genetic effects.
THE MECHANISMS
OF AGEING
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EVOLUTION & MECHANISMS OF AGEING PUBLICATIONS
The role of telomeres in the mechanisms and evolution of life-history trade-offs and ageing
Young, A.J. (2018)
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B
Age-related declines in immune response in a wild mammal are unrelated to immune cell telomere length
Beirne, C., Waring, L., McDonald, R.A., Delahay, R., Young, A.J. (2016)
Proceedings of the Royal Society B
The oxidative costs of reproduction are group-size dependent in a wild cooperative breeder
Cram, D.L., Blount, J.D., Young, A.J. (2015)
Proceedings of the Royal Society B
Sex differences in senescence: the role of intra-sexual competition in early adulthood
Beirne, C., Delahay, R., Young, A.J. (2015)
Proceedings of the Royal Society B
Workforce effects and the evolution of complex sociality in wild Damaraland mole-rats
Young, A.J., Jarvis, J.U.M., Barnaville, J., Bennett, N.C. (2015)
American Naturalist
Oxidative status and social dominance in a wild cooperative breeder
Cram, D.L., Blount, J.D., Young, A.J. (2015)
Functional Ecology
Immune response in a wild bird is predicted by oxidative status but does not cause oxidative stress
Cram, D.L., Blount, J.D., York, J.E., Young, A.J. (2015)
PLOS One
The mechanisms of senescence in wild European badgers
Beirne, C. (2015)
PhD Thesis
Age-related declines and disease-associated variation in immune cell telomere length in a wild mammal
Beirne, C., Delahay, R., Hares, M., Young, A.J. (2014)
PLOS One
Costs and benefits of cooperative behaviour in a wild bird: the role of oxidative stress
Cram D.L. (2013)
PhD thesis
Stress and the suppression of subordinate reproduction in cooperatively breeding meerkats
Young A.J., Carlson A.A., Monfort S.L., Russell A.F., Bennett N.C. & Clutton-Brock T.H. (2006)
Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 103: 12005-12010